Dear Sophia,

Just like every other year, I sit here the evening before your birthday wondering how another year could have possibly gone by already.  Every year has seemed like a big one, with new milestones and memories to catalogue - but damn, 2020 sure was one for the books.

There is no chance that any of us could have imagined you would have ended your first year of high school in the midst of a worldwide pandemic.  You were out bowling with friends one Friday night, and by the next Monday the world seemed to have shut down.  You adapted gracefully to remote learning, and accepted the loss of so many experiences you had looked forward to... winter ball, spring sports, dance competitions, sleepovers with friends, our end-of-school party, and so many daily normalcies of teenage life.  No doubt you mourned these missed opportunities and were frustrated by all of the changes. but you faced the new expectations with maturity beyond your years.  You vocalized the importance of sacrificing in the short term in order to keep people safe, and you understood what was being asked of you.  It also didn't hurt that you were able to spend the last few months of school in your pajamas.

Here we are, now into January of 2021, and you and Ben are still continuing to learn from home.  You have adapted to this new normal and are thriving in your academics despite the unconventional instruction.  Public health precautions have been fine-tuned as more has been learned about Covid-19, and some activities have resumed.  You were able to return to the dance studio mid-summer, and participated in a creative week of outdoor parking lot recitals to tie up the last season.  And with masks and distancing and a lot of extra sanitizing, you have been able to keep up with dance, even adding another competition team number to your plate.  The school managed a delayed, shortened soccer season and you embraced the freezing late-fall temperatures and uncomfortable mask rules in order to get back on the field with your team.  

We are all wishing for a return to normalcy, but I can't express the joy I will feel when you and your friends can pile into the basement again.  No matter how well you have navigated all of this weirdness, I know how much you miss being with your people.  I know you and I are both sad about not being able to have an elaborate sweet sixteen party.  We would have really done it up.  But when I realized a gathering was definitely not an option right now, I reached out to your friends and everyone in your life who loves you, and asked them all to send cards.  I know how sentimental you are and that this gesture would mean a lot to you, but I had no idea what a collection we would receive!  Cards came in from family, friends, younger students from the dance studio, past and current teachers, friends' parents, and more.  You are adored, my girl.  And that is because of who you are, how you conduct yourself in the world, and the care you show others.  I hope that even though this milestone birthday had to be kept pretty lowkey, you still feel everyone celebrating with you from afar.

I was so happy we were able to go away for our little mother-daughter escape to the seaside this weekend.  It wasn't the traditional party I'd hoped to give you, but I treasure time spent with you.  You are the best daughter I could have ever imagined, but the fact that we share such a special friendship is something that is more rare than either of us always realize.  Thank you for that.

I love you so much,

Mama